Barcelona’s Alvarez Hunt Has a Backup Plan. It Includes a Man United Striker.

Barcelona still wants Julian Alvarez. That’s not a secret. But getting him out of Atletico Madrid is going to be a problem, and the club knows it. So Deco and the front office have started building a list of alternatives, and one name on that list is currently wearing a Manchester United shirt.

Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian striker who moved to Old Trafford with a lot of hype and has shown flashes of being exactly what a top club needs. A big body, good with his feet, young enough to grow into the role. Barcelona is watching him closely, according to a report out of Spain that cites Marca as the original source.

The logic here is pretty straightforward. Robert Lewandowski left on a free this summer. That’s a massive hole in the lineup. Barcelona needs a number nine, and they need one who can produce right away. Sesko fits the profile in terms of age and skill set, but he’s not the only name on the list.

The shortlist goes deeper than one guy

According to the same report, Barcelona has also looked at Karl Etta Eyong from Levante and Serhou Guirassy from Borussia Dortmund. Guirassy is the more proven option at a high level, but he’s also older and would cost real money. Etta Eyong is more of a project, the kind of signing you make if you think you can develop him into something bigger.

Sesko sits somewhere in the middle. He’s not a finished product yet, but he’s further along than a raw prospect. And he’s already in the Premier League, which means he’s used to the physical side of the game. That matters for a move to La Liga.

But here’s the thing. Manchester United isn’t exactly eager to let him go. They paid real money to bring him in, and the feeling internally is that he’s still settling in. Selling him now would be admitting something didn’t work, and the club isn’t there yet. Not publicly, anyway.

So this feels like more of a long shot than anything. Barcelona makes sense as a destination for a player like Sesko. The question is whether United would even entertain an offer, or if this is just agent talk designed to get everyone’s attention.

For now, Alvarez remains the priority. But the backup plan is taking shape, and Sesko’s name keeps coming up. It’s worth watching how this plays out over the next few weeks.